Vacuum cleaner activated air freshener

ABSTRACT

A perforated packet made of paper or other suitable material in which a scented fragrant material, such as potpourri, is disposed, the packet being placed into a disposable paper vacuum cleaner collection bag prior to its connection to the vacuum cleaner, the sheath and scented fragrant contents providing a scented fragrance to the air during the operation of the vacuum cleaner, the scented fragrance being released to the room or area where the vacuum operation is taking place, the packet also releasing a scent or fragrance masking any odor emanating from collected dirt and debris when not in use. Alternatively, the perforated packet and scented material may be inserted into a container mounted to a wall socket having motor and fan means to circulate ambient air through the packet.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

Applicant claims the benefit of provisional application 61/268,538,filed Jun. 15, 2009.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

This application relates to air fresheners, and in particular, an airfreshener which is deposited in the paper vacuum bag of a vacuumcleaner, either upright or canister, and activated by the vacuum and airflow of the vacuum cleaner during use or alternatively inserted into acontainer mounted in a wall socket having motor and fan means forpassage of ambient air through the air freshener.

2. Description of the Prior Art

The purpose of vacuuming a house or a work place is to remove dirt anddebris from surfaces to be cleaned. Carpeted areas accumulate dust,tobacco ashes, animal fur, and dirt. If left unattended, these elementsmay give off an odor. While one thinks of carpeting as the surface towhich a vacuum cleaner would be applied, the vacuum cleaner can also beapplied to hardwood floors, marble and other tiled areas. The purpose ofvacuuming these other areas is the same as with the carpet.

The vacuum cleaner normally provides for a container area in which thereis positioned a disposable paper bag which accumulates and collects thedirt, dust and debris which is vacuumed from the floor under theinfluence of the motor of the vacuum cleaner. The paper bag serves as afilter to collect all of the debris allowing the air to pass through it.The paper bag is normally not disposed of until it has become full andaffects the air flow of the vacuum cleaner. Therefore certain dust, dirtand debris particles may remain in the vacuum bag for repeated vacuumoperations. Applicant would propose individually scented packets whichcould be positioned within the paper disposal bags before they arepositioned on the vacuum cleaner and which would emanate a scent orfragrance into the room under the influence of the air flow from thevacuum cleaner motor during operation and provide a scent or fragrancein the collection bag when not in use to mask any odor generated by thedebris collected.

Applicant is aware of several prior attempts to provide for a freshenedexhaust from a vacuum cleaner, including U.S. Pat. No. 6,630,233; U.S.Pat. No. 3,274,758; U.S. Pat. No. 2,574,578; U.S. Pat. No. 2,304,868;and U.S. Pat. No. 2,152,277. All of the aforesaid attend to the problemwith complicated add-on devices which in some cases require modificationof the vacuum cleaner itself, whereas Applicant's solution to theproblem does not require or affect the design and operation of thevacuum cleaner or of the disposable paper bags.

OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION

An object of the present invention is to provide a novel packetcontaining scented or fragrant particles, the packet being placed withinthe disposable collection bag of a vacuum cleaner, and releasing thescented fragrance under the influence of the vacuum cleaner duringoperation.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a novel packetcontaining scented or fragrant particles, the packet residing within thedisposable collection bag of a vacuum cleaner, the packet releasing ascent or fragrance when the vacuum is not in use in order to mask anyodor emanating from the dirt or debris collected by the vacuum cleaner.

Another object of the present invention is to provide for a novel packetcontaining scented or fragrant particles which is biodegradable andwhich can be disposed of with the disposable collection bag and thecollected dirt and debris.

A still further object of the present invention is to provide for anovel packet containing scented or fragrant particles which is easilypositioned through the inlet port of the disposable collection bagbefore the disposable collection bag is secured to the vacuum.

A still further object of the present invention is to provide for anovel packet containing scented or fragrant particles for positioningwithin a disposable collection bag of a vacuum cleaner, the packet beingencapsulated in an airtight container before use to prevent the loss ordeterioration of the scent or fragrance contained therein.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A perforated packet made of paper or other suitable material in which ascented fragrant material, such as potpourri, is disposed, the packetbeing placed into a disposable paper vacuum cleaner collection bag priorto its connection to the vacuum cleaner, the sheath and scented fragrantcontents providing a scented fragrance to the air during the operationof the vacuum cleaner, the scented fragrance being released to the roomor area where the vacuum operation is taking place, the packet alsoreleasing a scent or fragrance masking any odor emanating from collecteddirt and debris when not in use. Alternatively, the perforated packetand scented material may be inserted into a container mounted to a wallsocket having motor and fan means to circulate ambient air through thepacket.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

These and other objects of the present invention will become apparent,particularly when taken in light of the following illustrations wherein:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a typical vacuum cleaner bag;

FIG. 2 is a side view of the preferred embodiment of an air freshener ofthe present invention designed to be inserted into the vacuum cleanerbag;

FIG. 3 is an exploded view of the air freshener of the present inventionand its packaging prior to use;

FIG. 4 is a second embodiment of the air freshener of the presentinvention exhibiting a separate geometric shape;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of still another embodiment of the airfreshener of the present invention exhibiting a honeycomb geometricshape; and

FIG. 6 is a side view of a wall socket mounted container for receipt ofthe air freshener with motor and fan means for circulating ambient airthrough the air freshener.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a typical disposable vacuum cleanercollection bag. The bag 10 comprises a plate member 12 normally formedof reinforced cardboard having a centrally disposed aperture 14 therethrough, aperture 14 normally having a toroidal planar resilientflexible O-ring 16 which is designed to fit over a conduit nozzle (notshown) on the vacuum cleaner which conduit directs an air flow from thevacuum with accumulated dirt and debris into the bag. Secured to platemember 12 is a bag member 18, which is formed of an air porous materialwhich collects the dirt and debris which is transported by the vacuumand allows the air flow to pass through, but traps any such dirt anddebris. Typically the bag is sold in a planar orientation and theaperture 14 on the plate member 12 is secured over the conduit of thevacuum cleaner. Upon initiation of the vacuum cleaner, the bag 18 wouldexpand to its full capacity.

The only limiting feature with respect to the disposable vacuum cleanercollection bag is the aperture 14 which is utilized to connect thecollection bag to a conduit nozzle (not shown) which directs the airinto the bag. The conduit nozzles are normally tubular, thereforerequiring the aperture 14 to be circular. However, the diameter may varyfrom vacuum to vacuum as may possibly the size of the bag vary fromvacuum to vacuum depending upon the size of the vacuum cleaner. It willtherefore be recognized that Applicant's air freshener packet may takeon several geometric shapes as discussed hereafter, the only limitingparameter being the shape and size of the air freshener packet vis-à-visthe particular aperture 14. Still further, it will be recognized thatthere is a relationship between the size and shape of the packet, andhence its total surface area, vis-à-vis the volume of the packet and theamount of scented or fragrant material which it can contain.

FIG. 2 is a side view of a preferred embodiment of the air freshenerpacket 30 of the present invention. It is designed in a tubular shape asillustrated in FIG. 2, but is not limited to this particular shape. Theonly limitation on the air freshener would be the size of the aperture14 in air bag 18, since the air freshener is designed to be insertedinto the air bag before use.

The air freshener packet 30 consists of a porous outer sheath 32, thesheath being filled with a scented fragrant material 34 such aspotpourri or the like. Depending upon the size of the material 34 usedfor the scented fragrant material, the porous sheath 32 could becomprised of perforated paper or a mesh-like material. The sole purposeof the sheath 32 is to contain the scented fragrant material 34contained therein and therefore its perforation or porousness would bedictated by the type of material utilized. The sheath 32 would be sealedat ends 36 and 38 and packaged in an airtight cellophane or plastic wrap33 (see FIG. 3) to prevent the loss of scented fragrance prior to use.Immediately before use, the exterior cellophane or plastic wrap would beremoved and the air freshener 30 would be inserted into the empty,vacuum cleaner bag 10 before the vacuum cleaner bag was secured to theflow conduit of the vacuum.

Thereafter, whenever the vacuum cleaner is activated such that it isdrawing a vacuum and dirt and debris, the air flow will pass through theperforations or mesh-like material of the sheath 32 and allow thescented fragrant material 34 to impart a pleasant fragrance to the airpassing there through, this air eventually passing through the airporous bag 18 of the vacuum cleaner and back into the ambient air of theroom which is being vacuumed.

The air freshener 30 would be in its most fully activated state when thevacuum cleaner was in operation and an air flow was passing through theporous sheath 32. However, the air freshener would also impart a slightfragrance when the vacuum cleaner was not in use which would benefit thefact that most vacuum cleaner bags 18 are not filled to capacity withone vacuuming, and often time spend several days in a closet beforebeing reused. Therefore the air freshener 30 would serve to mask theodors of any dirt or debris which have been vacuumed into the bag andwhich remain in the bag over a short period of time before the bag isfilled to capacity and must be discarded. Upon discarding the existingbag, the same method would be followed with the insertion of a new baginto the vacuum cleaner with the insertion of a fresh new air freshener.

FIG. 4 illustrates an alternative embodiment of the air freshener inwhich the outer sheath 32A is rectangular in cross section, the sheathbeing filled with a scented, fragrant material 34A, such as potpourri orthe like.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of still another embodiment of the airfreshener of the present invention. In this embodiment the air fresheneris illustrated as being rectangular in shape and having a honeycombstructure 40 fabricated from intersecting porous strips of paper orcardboard, the intersecting strips of porous or cardboard forming ahoneycomb structure, the actual strips of paper or cardboard beingthemselves impregnated with a scented fragrance as opposed to having aporous outer sheath encapsulating a scented fragrant material. It shouldbe recognized by those of ordinary skill in the art that while thehoneycomb structure as illustrated in FIG. 5 is illustrated with arectangular cross section, it could be fabricated in another geometricalcross section without departing from the spirit and scope of theinvention.

Finally, FIG. 6 illustrates an alternative use for any of theembodiments of the air freshener previously discussed. In thisembodiment, a container 60 housing a small electric motor and fan (notshown) is securable to an electrical outlet via contact prongs 62 forpowering the motor and fan. The container includes a receptacle 64 forreceipt of the air freshener packet 30. The air freshener packet 30could comprise the embodiment including the porous outer sheath 32 withscented, fragrant material 34 encapsulated therein, or it could includethe honeycomb impregnated structure 40. Receptacle 64 would be shaped toreceive either the cylindrical or rectangular air freshener packet. Theair freshener packet 30 would be inserted into a receptacle 64,receptacle 64 having a closure means in the form of a cap 66. Thereceptacle 64 with the inserted air freshener packet 30 would be in thepath of an air flow generated by the motor and fan within the containeronce the container 60 was plugged into an electrical outlet. The airbeing forced over the air freshener packet 30 would pick up the fragrantscent of the air freshener packet 30 and emanate this scent into theroom.

Therefore, while the present invention has been disclosed with respectto the preferred embodiments thereof, it will be recognized by those ofordinary skill in the art that various changes and modifications can bemade without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. It istherefore manifestly intended that the invention be limited only by theclaims and the equivalence thereof.

1. An air freshener for a vacuum cleaner collection bag, the airfreshener activated by use of the vacuum cleaner suction and air flow,the air freshener comprising: a perforated container having a cap means,said perforated container containing a scented fragrant composition,said perforated container and said contained scented fragrantcomposition being encapsulated before use, said encapsulation removedprior to insertion of said perforated container and said containedscented fragrant composition into a vacuum cleaner bag.
 2. The airfreshener in accordance with claim 1 wherein said perforated contain isfabricated from biodegradable paper.
 3. The air freshener in accordancewith claim 1 wherein said perforated container is fabricated frompolymer.
 4. The air freshener in accordance with claim 1 wherein saidperforated container is of a geometric shape and sized to pass through ahose connection opening in said vacuum cleaner collection bag.
 5. Theair freshener in accordance with claim 4 wherein said preferredembodiment of said perforated container is that of a tubularcross-section having at least one removable end cap for filling saidperforated container with said scented fragrant composition.
 6. The airfreshener in accordance with claim 1 wherein said scented fragrantcomposition comprises a blend of potpourri effected with a selectedfragrance or scent.
 7. The air freshener in accordance with claim 1wherein said perforated container allows for the passage of air therethrough, said air passing there through being imparted with a scentedfragrance from said scented fragrant composition, said air flow withimparted scented fragrance reentering the ambient air surrounding thevacuum cleaner usage.